I Am a Villain, So What?-Chapter 187: Demon

The headless corpse rose to its knees. It forced its hands, dripping with thick Magi, directly into its own chest cavity, gripped its still-beating heart... and crushed it.

I recognized this exact horrific scene from the original game’s lore.

It was a sacrificial ritual!

"Tch, get back!"

"Don’t stare at it! Take cover!" I yelled, grabbing Elisha by the arm and diving violently behind the thickest piece of the shattered throne.

A localized hurricane of raw Magi erupted from Leon’s corpse. It spread in all directions like a shockwave, vaporizing the sand around it.

His skin turned pitch-black. His physical form began to rapidly mutate. A new, elongated head regenerated from the stump of his neck, sprouting jagged, swept-back horns. Thick, obsidian-like scales armored his chest and limbs.

Leon had sacrificed his own soul to fully summon the demon he contracted with. And judging by the mana density, the opponent was a High-Ranking Demon.

’This didn’t happen in the original timeline at this camp...!’

The demon’s eyes snapped open. They weren’t eyes anymore; they were just burning voids of black, hateful fire.

Two massive, membranous wings ripped out from its shoulder blades. Like a newly born nightmare drying its wings, they slowly unfurled, casting a massive shadow over the hall.

[Ah... aah... what a splendid, desperate vessel. At last, I have descended into the mortal realm...]

The demon’s voice didn’t just echo in the room; it vibrated directly inside my skull.

A High-Ranking Demon was the top-tier of the demonic hierarchy, just one step below the ruling Nobility. It was weaker than the chimera of Demon Count I had faced in the Fern Kingdom months ago, but it was far from a negligible threat. Without a specialized weapon, ordinary attacks wouldn’t even scratch it.

"Cadet Elisha! Crossfire formation, just like before!" I ordered, racking the shotgun.

"Got it!"

We leaned out from our covers and began the shootout.

The High-Ranking Demon just laughed. The mocking, grinding sound crawled into our ears, disorienting our balance.

[Heh. Foolish mortals...]

My Sixth Sense screamed. I dove sideways.

The demon casually waved its clawed hand. The massive piece of the stone throne I had just been hiding behind was swept away by a tidal wave of Magi, turning to dust in an instant.

’Insane!’

This was on a completely different level from Leon’s haphazard attacks.

At that moment, a fully charged crimson arrow struck the demon squarely in the back.

[Haha! You call this a tickle an attack?!]

The demon didn’t even flinch. It spun around and unleashed a torrent of Magi toward Elisha. I watched her perfectly execute a combat roll, dodging the blast by a hair’s breadth. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Good.

I took the opening. I fired an armor-piercing slug directly at its chest.

CLANG.

The bullet hit dead center, but it sparked and bounced harmlessly off the demon’s obsidian outer shell.

[You actually call that primitive toy a weapon...?] The demon sneered, turning its burning eyes to me. [The archer is much more entertaining.]

’True, but your attitude pisses me off.’

The difference in our accumulated stats and physical energy was a massive wall, both in quality and quantity.

’I have no choice. I’ll have to use the Diamond Bullet here.’

It was practically the only surefire way to pierce a High-Ranking Demon’s hide without dying in the process. I reached into my pouch.

[What is there to think about, little human?]

"...!"

I blinked. The demon wasn’t at the center of the hall anymore. It was standing directly in front of me, looming over my new cover.

’Teleportation?!’

Magi exploded from the demon’s claws as it swiped down to decapitate me.

’Flash!’

I triggered my spatial footwork, reappearing ten feet backward just as the claws atomized the stone barrier.

Not too late!

I felt a cold sweat break out on my neck. I knew instinctively: if I had hesitated to use my mana for even a microsecond, I would be dead.

But the situation just got worse. I had revealed my hand.

[That spatial technique...] The High-Ranking Demon paused, tilting its horned head in genuine confusion. [And that lingering stench of holy energy. That belongs to the Holy Empire that once gave us quite a bit of a headache... Holy Assassins, was it? Annoying memories. But how strange.]

The demon locked its burning eyes onto me.

[The Demon Kings made sure to completely wipe your kind out.]

’Demon Kings...? Well, I knew the Holy Empire was destroyed by demons in the lore.’

In the game’s backstory, the Holy Empire’s Divine Force was incredibly lethal to demonic entities. Because of that threat, the demons went all out, invading and completely destroying the Holy Empire, erasing their records from the continent. The Demon Kings were eventually pushed back to the Demon Realm by the combined forces of humanity, leaving them only able to return through summoning rituals like this one.

[Well, whatever,] the demon chuckled darkly. [The underlings must’ve botched the extermination job. We were ordered to slaughter everyone involved and burn the information, but surviving that purge means you must have some decent skill. Tell me, little survivor, are you a holy assassin too?]

As expected, my skills caused it to mistake me for a remnant of the fallen Empire.

...This wasn’t good. But I could use it.

"...So it was your kind who erased the history of the Holy Empire," I said, lowering my stance and letting my Divine Force intentionally flare around my hands.

[Hehehe, well... don’t you resent me? I was there during the purge, you know. Tearing into the flesh and blood of humans imbued with Divine Force... what can I say? Hmm... right!]

The demon smiled, exposing rows of jagged, black teeth.

[In your modern human terms... it tasted crisp. Like sparkling soda.]

It would be entirely natural to play the role of a vengeful survivor right now. I fed Divine Force directly into the chamber of the shotgun, locking eyes with the monster.

"...I’ll kill you."

[Is the old Executioner doing well? He slipped away quite cleverly during the purge. Since you rely on a firearm, you must’ve been trained by him, right?]

"Don’t mention him," I said coldly, playing along with the misunderstanding.

[You’d better listen well, little survivor. You won’t leave here alive. Judging by your mana capacity, you’re just a glorified courier carrying the Executioner’s letters, yet you think you can threaten me? Or...]

Magi exploded from the High-Ranking Demon’s body. The previously oppressive aura grew exponentially fiercer, sweeping through the cavernous ruins like a toxic hurricane. The ancient sand and stone pillars began to literally melt and boil under the sheer density of the demonic corruption.

My breath grew tight. The air burned my lungs.

[...did you really not know I was just toying with you?]

I could feel the cells in my body screaming in agony. This was the true power of a High-Ranking Demon.

[Despair!]

The ceiling and walls, corroded by the Magi, began to slowly collapse. The debris falling around us was infused with demonic energy; just touching it would be lethal.

The situation was deteriorating rapidly.

’I am going to die.’ That was the only rational thought fighting through my mind as the dark demonic energy clouded my judgment with sheer, suffocating despair.

System.

I quickly checked my balance.

[Current System Points: 1,100]

Fuck!

System, do you have anything that could be of any help in this situation?!

The System interface overlaid onto my vision, showing a list of holy artifacts. And I had to say, there was absolutely nothing there that I could afford.

[Rosary of the Weeping Saintess: 25,000 Points]

[Chaplet of the Unbroken Vow: 20,000 Points]

[Chalice of the First Dawn: 35,000 Points]

Even a single High-Tier Divine Bullet cost 1,500 points. I was 400 points short of buying one bullet.

I mentally yelled at the interface.

’Hey, God, or whoever runs this broken game... if you brought me to this world to change its fate and stop the apocalypse, then you’d better start selecting my successor right now!’

My mind was clouded with despair, but I refused to give up. The enemy had revealed its full power. That meant I could observe its limits. To settle this, I had to act now.

I reached into my ammo pouch. I still had a handful of low-grade holy bullets left that Merle had crafted. I didn’t know if it would be enough to pierce that High-Ranking armor, but I would give it my all.

’Hm?’

Just then, the System’s distinct chime echoed in my head. A cascade of delayed achievement notifications suddenly flooded my vision.

[Achievement Unlocked: Discovered the Aethelgard Ruins!]

[Achievement Unlocked: Defeated the Desert Regent!]

[Achievement Unlocked: Secured the Primordial Earth Crown!]

[Calculating Rewards...]

My point balance began to climb rapidly, spinning like a slot machine until it stopped at a whopping [31,100 Points].

Seeing that number, a smirk broke through the despair clouding my face.

It seems you aren’t ready to find your next successor just yet, huh?

Good for me. I knew exactly what to purchase.